First up: Rachel Platten.
Rachel has been writing music for years (10+). She has paid her dues, so to speak, and the crowd received her extremely well. People were on their feet and the closing number showed some serious amounts of audience participation.
For starters, a little throwback Rachel Platten. This song is from 2011 and is called "1,000 Ships". It peaked at 24 on the US Adult Pop charts. Personally, I love it. I think it's fun and she sounds like Regina Spektor a bit.
Backtracking a bit to the beginning of the show...
While finding my way to my seat, I noticed multiple people with signs that said "I fight for _________". Cancer, Autism, my mother, my friend, the list goes on and on. I assumed these were for "Fight Song," but I had no idea of the power those signs would carry.
Skipping forward to the final song of her set...
This beautiful crowd held their signs high and proud while Rachel belted her song and I think we could all feel the sense of strength and support in the air. For those four minutes, we were all sharing in the strength her song brings.
I have to say her set seemed a bit short, but I'm sure we will see much more of Rachel Platten in the future.
Next up: Christina Perri
My woman. I have traveled for this lady more than once and it's quite honestly because she slays every single time she takes the stage.
For starters, her personality. She's just great. She talked to the audience as if we were besties. In fact she asked us how we were all doing more than once, and not in that "HOW YOU DOING SIOUX CITY!!!!" kind of way. In the way that she genuinely just wanted to know if we were having a good time.
In addition to her adorable concern for the wellbeing of the crowd, she had a stellar band. You could tell she genuinely loves them because at the end of the show, she bowed with them. Her name is on the bass drum. Her name is on the album. Her name is on my ticket stub. She is Christina Perri, but she knows she can't do this without them and she praised each and every member of her band at least twice throughout the show.
Now onto the part you're all here for, the music.
As you can imagine, it was flawless. Christina quite honestly has one of the best voices in music today. What makes her the best, you ask? It's simple. She can sing live. She didn't miss a beat or a note and if you know her music, you know she has some CRAZY belts in there.
Now I know what you're thinking. Ok, maybe not but let's just pretend I do. "Christina Perri only writes sad songs." Wrong. Absolutely wrong. In fact, if you attend one of her concerts, she will most likely joke about that right before she sings "Be My Forever". If you listen closely, you may recognize the other person in this song. It's none other than Mr. Ed Sheeran!!
"Burning Gold" will always be a favorite of mine and last night her performance didn't disappoint. She KILLED it! The crowd even got in on the action by singing and dancing along, which made the whole experience that much better.
I'll wrap this up with my favorite part of her set. It's a crowd participation number filled with self affirmations:
"This is not the end of me. This is the beginning."
"Hold on."
"I am still alive."
I could keep telling you about it. Or I could show you. In the video it is amazing, but just imagine being there. The feeling of love is simply indescribable.
Lastly: Colbie Caillat
Up until last night, I had never seen her in concert. I didn't have any expectations, but let me just say she blew me away with her talents. This girl can sing! Like really sing!
She of course did the songs everyone knows and loves, but she also gave us a taste of her upcoming tracks (which are unfortunately not released on YouTube yet). First up, "I Never Told You". A great showcase of Colbie's talents and a fun crowd sing-a-long.
After this we got treated to one of her newer hits, "Try". There was something about this performance that seemed so genuine. There are times when artists sing their songs, but you can tell they aren't necessarily feeling their lyrics. That was not the case tonight and with Colbie. She meant every line of this song, especially the last one. The performance gave me chills and I'm fairly positive every single person in the audience was singing along. It was a fabulous performance!
Colbie ended the show with "Brighter than the Sun". It wasn't the closer I expected, but I think it was a great choice. The entire show the two women in front of me were screaming for her to sing it, and when she finally did everyone leapt from their seats. Audience participation alone made it a great number to close on.
Rachel Platten, Christina Perri and Colbie Caillat. Three beautiful women who put on one heck of a show! The tour just kicked off, so if you have the opportunity to go -- DO IT! I promise you won't regret the decision!
